The present invention relates to a vehicle having a steering wheel, which is rotatable about a steering axis, a transmission, and a manually actuable selector device, which is provided for selecting different states of the transmission.
In the case of BMW 7-Series vehicles, which have been sold since the year 2002, a steering-column-type selector lever was provided for selecting the individual operating states—Drive (D), Neutral (N) and Reverse (R). In the case of these vehicles, the selector lever is arranged on a side of the steering wheel facing away from the driver and spaced away from the steering wheel. The selector lever is provided as a monostable selector lever; i.e. it automatically returns into its starting position after an actuation. In order to shift from the momentary operating state (P, R, N, D) into another operating state, the selector lever has to be pivoted from its inoperative position about a pivot axis which is parallel or coaxial with respect to the steering axis of the steering wheel.
It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle with a selector device for selecting different operating states of a transmission, whereby the selector device can be operated in a comfortable and more intuitive manner.
This and other objects are achieved by a vehicle having a steering wheel, which is rotatable about a steering axis, a transmission, and a manually actuable selector device, which is provided for selecting different states of the transmission. The selector device is arranged at a distance from the steering wheel on a side of the latter which faces away from the driver and has a selector element which is rotatable or pivotable about an axis of rotation or a pivot axis, wherein the axis of rotation or pivot axis is essentially transverse to the steering axis. Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention are described and claimed herein.
The starting point of the invention is a vehicle with a steering wheel, which is rotatable about a steering axis, a transmission and a manually actuable selector device which is provided for selecting different states of the transmission. The selector device is arranged on a side of the steering wheel facing away from the driver and at a distance from the steering wheel. It has a selector element that is rotatably or pivotably arranged about an axis of rotation or a pivot axis.
According to the invention, the axis of rotation or pivot axis is essentially transverse to the steering axis. The “degree of freedom of motion” of the selector element according to the invention is therefore transverse to the selector lever to be found in the case of the above-mentioned BMW 7-Series.
The term “states of the transmission” comprises, in particular, the customary operating states of an automatic transmission, specifically “drive” (D), “neutral” (N) and “reverse” (R). If the vehicle transmission “initiated by the driver” can be shifted from one transmission gear to another transmission gear, the term “states of the transmission” will also comprise the “manual” engaging of individual gears, particularly manual step-by-step shifting from one transmission gear into a next higher or next lower transmission gear.
The invention is particularly suitable for so-called “shift-by-wire” shifting systems, i.e. for shifting devices in which the selector device or the selector element is electrically coupled with a transmission control device or with a transmission.
According to a further development of the invention, the selector element is arranged to be rotatable or pivotable into a first direction and into a second direction opposite to the first direction, specifically about the above-mentioned axis of rotation or pivot axis. Viewed in the traveling direction of the vehicle, the selector element may be arranged on the right-hand side of the steering axis; i.e. in an angular area in which the “windshield wiper lever” is normally arranged in the case of conventional vehicles. The selector device or the selector element may optionally be arranged below or above a horizontal plane which can be imagined to cut the steering wheel in half. In a top view of the steering wheel from the driver's viewpoint, the selector device or the selector element is preferably arranged in the upper right steering wheel quadrant.
In order to ensure an optimal accessibility of the selector element during the drive, it may be provided that, viewed in the radial direction of the steering wheel, the selector element projects slightly beyond a steering wheel rim of the steering wheel.
According to a further development of the invention, it is provided that the selector element is rotatably or pivotably arranged on a “selector element holder”, which essentially projects radially from a steering column covering surrounding the steering axis toward the outside. The selector element holder may be arranged to be fixed to the vehicle. This means that, in contrast to a window wiper lever or direction signal lever, the selector element holder cannot be moved relative to the steering column covering.
The selector element may have various constructions, for example, as a ratchet-type selector element or as a selector ring, etc. The selector element preferably has a “thickened section” and an operating section projecting radially with respect to the axis of rotation or pivot axis of the selector element and having operating surfaces. The operating section is that area that is gripped by the driver for actuating the selector device. The operating section may, for example, have a front side and a back side. By way of assigned operating surfaces of the front or back side, the driver can press the selector element toward the front in the traveling direction or can pull it toward the rear against the traveling direction.
It may be provided that the operating section for selecting the operating state D is to be rotated or pivoted in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and for selecting the operating state R, is to be rotated or pivoted against the traveling direction.
According to a further development of the invention, a display device is provided on the selector element holder for displaying the currently selected operating state. The display device can be constructionally integrated in the selector element holder or in the operating section. The display device may be formed by a display, by legends with assigned light elements (such as LEDs), or the like. In addition to the individual operating states of the transmission (R, N, D), it may also be provided that it is displayed whether the transmission is currently in the parked state (P).
In particular, the selector device may be a so-called monostable selector device. A monostable selector device is a selector device that has a restoring device which moves the selector device or the concerned selector element after an actuation in each case back into a predefined inoperative position.
The selector device is preferably designed and laid out such that it can be actuated by finger, particularly by means of only one finger.
It may be provided that the selector device or its selector element, starting from the inoperative position, can be moved against a restoring force into a first actuating position and, starting out from the first actuating position, further against a restoring force into a second actuating position. Furthermore, a pressure point may be provided which has to be overcome during the transition from the first actuating position to the second actuating position.
According to a further development of the invention, a sensor device is provided which detects the rotating or pivoting state, particularly the rotating or pivoting angle of the selector element with respect to the inoperative position and supplies a corresponding signal to the transmission control device. For sensing the rotating or pivoting state, a visual sensor may, for example, be provided.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.